“Fortunately, old True’s got a lot of experience fighting currents. Okay, darlin’, I’m in the shallows… let it oot slowly… slowly… tha’s good. Here comes the Valkyrie… got it. Ashlynn, give me five meters of slack, so I can lay everything oot on the river bank and realign the cable.”

“You sound exhausted. Let me walk you through it. Tell me when you have everything laid out.”

“Done. But I cannae stand much longer.”

“True, don’t rest now. Can you see the cable? Disconnect it from the pod, using the snap hook.”

“Bloody hell, the thing’s frozen tight. River’s rising up the bank. Might… might have tae take a raincheck on us, darlin’.”

“True, focus! Align your pincers and open the snap hook. Do it!”

“Okay, I did it. Now whit?”

“Now you need to snap it in place on the Valkyrie. There’s an eye-bolt located just behind its laser… True?”

“Got it. Whit’s next?”

“Unclip the cable connecting the sled to the bottom of the pod. Rotate the pod 180 degrees, then reconnect the cable. This way you’ll make the ascent head-up… True? True, don’t go to sleep on me!”

“Sorry, jist dizzy. Water’s ankle-deep. Got the cable free. Reconnecting the pod, window-up. What’s next?”

“Seal the storage compartment of the sled, then get inside the pod and we’ll haul you topside.”

25 SEPTEMBER 06:22 HOURS

Back inside the pod now, Brandy girl. Can’t believe whit jist happened.

When I went tae seal the storage compartment on the sled, my eyes caught sight of somethin’ the rising river had exposed from beneath the sand. Oh, Brandy, it was incredible—an egg as big and oval as a ripe watermelon. Pliable like rubber. Clear and green as snot. And when I lifted it from the sand, I felt something alive wobblin’ from inside.

Whit kind a prehistoric creature could it be? Whit if I could bring it tae hatch in Loch Ness? Would it bring the crowds back when it grew up, or would it eat them? Whit if we built a secure pen tae house the big fella?

I removed my flashlight from my utility belt and tried to look inside the egg. I could jist make out the creature’s long neck, four webbed feet, and a long tail.

Good God, Brandy, I found me a plesiosaur egg.

Like a bairn on Christmas morn, I gently packed junior intae the sled’s empty storage compartment, dumping arms full of sand along the edges tae secure it before sealing it shut.

“True, what’s taking so long? Get in the pod.”

“Easy Ashlynn, jist checking the cables.”

“Get in the pod now—there’s something large approaching your position.”

Two awkward strides felled me to my knees. Unable tae stand, I crawled over tae the pod on all fours and flopped inside onto my back.

“I’m in, Ashlynn. Shut the bloody doors!”